A spokesman for the company in Tokyo would not elaborate on the issue, saying only that "PS4 sales have been very strong and as a result, PS4 is temporarily in short supply."

The console was available on Thursday at Yodobashi Camera and other major retailers in Japan, where it launched in late February.

The PS4 had sold more than 1 million units on its first day when it launched in the U.S. and Canada in November 2013. Such was the brisk demand that in January, U.S. video game retailer GameStop issued a press release when it received a fresh supply of PS4 units.

In March, House told The Wall Street Journal that supplies of the PS4 could be tight until summer, when he expected "a full supply situation."

SCE also said that more than 20.5 million PS4 titles had sold worldwide as of April 13, and that 2014 will see about 120 titles made available for the console including major releases such as "Watch Dogs" and "Alien: Isolation."

The PS4 beat out rival Microsoft's more expensive Xbox One in sales through the end of 2013.